Murphy Administration Announces Final Round of Local Achievement Efficiency Program Grant Awards for FY2024

Murphy Administration Announces Final Round of Local Achievement Efficiency Program Grant Awards for FY2024

• Posted on: 07/22/2024

More Than $3.4 Million in LEAP Grants Will Help Promote and Accomplish Shared Services Initiatives

Trenton, NJ - The Murphy Administration, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and the State's Shared Services Czars today announced the final round of Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) grant awards for fiscal year 2024. These grants, totaling $3,455,138, provide financial assistance to local government entities such as counties, municipalities, school districts, authorities, and fire districts across the State of New Jersey to identify, study, and implement shared services initiatives. The program is aimed at encouraging towns to streamline their government services to increase efficiency and help save taxpayer dollars. The LEAP is administered by DCA's Division of Local Government Services (DLGS).

Former Mayors Nicolas Platt of Harding Township and Jordan Glatt of the City of Summit, who were appointed by Governor Murphy in 2018 to serve as bipartisan Shared Services Czars responsible for leading the State's shared services efforts, have been and remain available to help guide local governments that are interested in applying to LEAP and are considering a shared service agreement.

"Change is never easy for people and local governments alike. That's why DCA, along with the Shared Services Czars Jordan Glatt and Nicolas Platt, support local government leaders in exploring shared services opportunities that may reduce costs and improve deliverables to community residents," said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. "Our approach allows for data-driven decision-making, community engagement, and a solutions-focused perspective in managing challenges with expert guidance and grant funding."

"As former mayors, we are acutely aware of the delicate balance needed to meet residents' needs and maintain a high-quality of life while reducing taxpayer costs," said Shared Services Czars Platt and Glatt. "We are encouraged by the positive feedback we receive from local officials, and more importantly, by seeing the great outcomes being achieved through shared service agreements across the State."

The LEAP grants provide direct support to advance the efforts of shared services in all local governmental units. LEAP affords an unprecedented opportunity to incentivize shared service implementation across New Jersey, advancing the mission of the Shared Services Program. There has been a total of 120 LEAP grant awards issued since the program launched in FY2020, which have totaled more than $18.1 million.

The LEAP program is comprised of three grant opportunities:

• Challenge Grants, which promote innovation and collaboration on more expansive projects that produce shared services of notable significance;
• Implementation Grants, which assist local governments in covering costs associated with the implementation of shared services and school feasibility studies; and
• County Coordinator Fellowship Grants, which support the position of a full-time or part-time County Shared Service Coordinator to identify and advance potential shared services within a county.

For a complete description of each grant please visit the DCA website at: New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) | Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) (nj.gov).

The following local governmental entities were awarded the final LEAP grants for 2024.

County Coordinator Fellowship Grants

• Passaic County - $75,000
• Monmouth County - $75,000
• Union County - $37,500
• Bergen County - $75,000
• Atlantic County - $75,000
• Hudson County - $75,000
• Somerset County - $37,500

Implementation Grants

• Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education-Regionalization - $400,000
• Corbin City Board of Education-Feasibility Study - $32,000
• Kittatinny Regional High School Board of Education-Feasibility Study - $153,500
• Cape May Point Borough-Storm Water Maintenance - $69,952.50
• West Cape May Borough-Street Sweeper - $191,448.75
• Monmouth County Sheriff's Office-Emergency Medical Service - $400,000
• Atlantic City/Pleasantville-Joint Municipal Court - $229,950
• South Toms River Borough-Street Sweeper - $299,242.50
• Allenhurst-Shared Dispatch-Monmouth County - $400,000
• Shrewsbury--Shared Dispatch-Monmouth County - $352,995
• Cresskill Borough-Shared Municipal Court with Demerest -$76,049.15
• Bergen County-Shared Dispatch -East Newark/Harrison - $400,000

To encourage and support local governments' interest in shared services, DLGS established the Local Assistance Bureau (LAB), which provides technical assistance to local officials and staff for each step of the shared services process from identification through implementation. The LAB team is comprised of former municipal professionals who possess the expertise and accumulated knowledge, skill sets, and insights to bring an inventive and skilled outlook to the field of municipal shared services. Staffing expertise ranges from police, fire, emergency management services, municipal court, finance, business administrators/managers, and public works.

For further information about LEAP Grant guidelines and required documentation, visit the DLGS website at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/programs/Leap_grants.shtml. To request information about LEAP Grants, please email: [email protected]. For information on shared services more broadly, please email [email protected].

DLGS serves as an advocate for local government interests and provides technical and financial assistance in budgeting, financial reporting, joint services, purchasing, and management issues. It is responsible for the financial integrity of all local government units and reviews and approves all municipal, county, and fire district budgets. The Division also reviews many local government financial actions and governs and guides the conduct of local government officials.

In addition to local government services, DCA offers a wide range of programs, including affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, historic preservation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media:

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